Cliff Hanger?

Feb 18, 2014

I've been hiv+ for almost 6 years now and not on any meds because My numbers have always remained in the (as my doctor would say).... like a hiv- person. Anyhow, after this much time I'm curious if like it's possible to just all of a sudden drop of the cliff so to speak suddenly and start seeing a dramatic decline in my labs or just assume I'm going to be one of those rare slow progressors. I just don't want any surprises!

Response from Dr. Young

Hello and thanks for posting.

Though you've not said what your viral load is, I'd surmise (if you are a long-term non-progressor) that off treatment, it's either undetectable or very low. This situation isn't common, but certainly real.

If this is the case, I don't expect a cliff hanger at all (and anyways, Cliff Hanger was a bad movie). Rather, with continued monitoring of your health and labs, LTNP don't drop off a cliff. Many continue on for years without decline in their health; a few seem to have slowly declining CD4s. For this later group, conventional HIV treatments reverse the trend.

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